ISI-linked Rohingyas gather near Capital

An internal security threat has been breeding under the very nose of Delhi Police’s special cell, even as it continues to nab and link various operatives — some of whom are “spent-forces” — of various terrorist organisations with their Pakistan-based handlers.

Central intelligence agencies have been keeping a close eye on Haryana’s Mewat district, which of late has seen a ‘sizeable build-up’ of Rohingya Muslims — whose community leaders are suspected to have alleged links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Rohingyas belonged to Myanmar’s Arakan where they were persecuted by the military Junta and had to flee to safety. They then organised under the banner of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation by their founder leaders Maulana Anawar and Dr Younus, before coming in touch with the ISI.

An intelligence officer told HT that the Rohingya refugees have been congregating at Nuh - the district where 42-year-old alleged Laskhar-e-Taiba operative Abdul Subhan was arrested from recently - more or less unnoticed by Delhi’s Police’s special cell, the Capital’s elite anti-terror unit.

The Rohingyas are allegedly part of a pan south-Asia terror campaign aimed at destabilising ASEAN countries through guerrilla tactics and attacks.

“We noticed their entry to the area in batches over the period of a year and began putting a local intelligence infrastructure in place,” said the intelligence official. “The information gathered so far is alarming to say the least. Many of the settlers have participated in military training organised for them by the ISI at the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh’s Maricher district some time ago,” he added.

The officer then went on to state that given the community’s established connections with the ISI, intelligence sources believed that many of the refugees might be used to conduct terror operations in the country.

“Intelligence input suggests that their founder-leaders Anawar and Dr Younus are expected to arrive to take stock of preparations this year,” the official added.

“We have reasons to believe that Pakistan wants to use the Rohingyas as bomb-planters in Indian cities as they can be made to work on relatively lesser pay and also do not attract much attention,” the official said.

The intelligence officer also expressed surprise as to how the build-up has managed to escape the eyes of the special cell that claims to have access to what it called the Mewat Module that had plans to attack New Delhi last year.